INEOS to construct PDH unit

INEOS has announced it is looking at sites across Europe including Antwerp in Belgium for its new world scale 750 000 tonne propane dehydrogenation (PDH) plant, while also planning to increase the capacity of its crackers at Grangemouth in Scotland and Rafnes in Norway to over 1 million t each. With these cracker expansions, INEOS will have added up to 900 000 tonnes of ethylene to its overall production capacity.

Gerd Franken, CEO INEOS Olefins & Polymers North said, “These are exciting times for INEOS as we plan to further increase the capacity of our crackers in Europe and at the same time to build an entirely new PDH plant. These expansions and new builds will increase our self-sufficiency in all key olefin products and give further support to our derivative businesses and polymer plants in Europe. All our assets will benefit from our capability to import competitive raw materials from the US and the rest of the world.”

INEOS currently produces nearly 4.5 million t of ethylene and propylene across Europe, but remains the largest buyer of ethylene and propylene in the region. In combination, these three major projects will significantly increase the quantities of propylene and ethylene produced by INEOS in Europe, and will support the continued growth and future profitability of INEOS’ ethylene and propylene derivative businesses.

Jim Ratcliffe, founder and chairman of INEOS, added, “These projects represent the first substantial investments in the European chemicals industry for many years. It has only been made possible because of INEOS massive US$2 billion investment in our Dragon Ships programme, which allows us to import ethane and LPG from the US in huge quantities”.